PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers can't wait any longer to fulfill their enormous potential on offense.

The injuries permeating the locker room have been brutal, especially on offense. Everyone knows that. But having any chance to win the AFC North or snag a wild-card spot now requires a robust second half from the Steelers (4-4). The Cincinnati Bengals made sure of that by picking off Ben Roethlisberger three times, including on back-to-back throws late in the fourth.

Even if Le'Veon Bell is out for the year with that right knee injury, as ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported is likely the case, a healthy Roethlisberger, a quality backup tailback in DeAngelo Williams, a good offensive line and several playmakers on the outside are more than enough to get something done.

The defense has been brilliant at times. Hard to blame that unit for A.J. Green's 9-yard touchdown with 2:37 left.

"They just found a hole in our zone," corner Antwon Blake said.

Maybe that had something to do with the defense being on the field for seven Bengals second-half drives while the offense struggled. The Steelers have exceeded expectations for much of the year. They held the Bengals to 4-of-15 on third down. On Sunday, the Bengals had one touchdown, one blocked field-goal attempt and two interceptions.

That shouldn't be an L.

"That's what is frustrating about it," said Roethlisberger, who completed 28 of 45 passes for 262 yards and was sacked three times. "They did more than enough to help us and let us win that game and it was awesome to see, but we didn't take advantage of that offensively."

That's not the way this season was supposed to go. The Steelers have the game's best quarterback, best running back and best wide receiver -- at least that's the message from the locker room, as players have mentioned those points at various times in the last few months. The collective preseason goal was 30 points per game. What won't get you to 30: driving to the opposing team's 26-yard line, going backward 9 yards and forcing an awkward punt.

The Steelers have eclipsed 30 once in eight games.

Roethlisberger said he wasn't rusty, citing the 80-yard opening drive. But the Steelers' offense never found an antidote to the Bengals' decision to flare both safeties deep, toward the sideline, choosing to take away the outside receivers. The Steelers tried to combat it with passes to Heath Miller over the middle, but they couldn't get others consistently involved in those spots. The Bengals did this more after Bell went out in the second quarter, receiver Markus Wheaton said. He doesn't expect that to continue.

"[DeAngelo] is more than capable," Wheaton said of Williams, who rushed for 71 yards on nine carries.

The Steelers are taking ownership of their 4-4 record. They are an "average team" right now, cornerback William Gay said. Only a win over the much-improved Oakland Raiders next Sunday can change that.

But as the Keith Butler rebuild is paying off, it's time for the offense to restore balance.

"We're going to let this burn at us and then turn the page," Roethlisberger said. "We've got a whole half of football left."